The Tales of Two Boys
by kkcaleb13
Summary: Manny has always been in a unique position. Hero or villain? He's never been able to choose. But now he's not alone. A new boy, Nyx Blanco, has just transferred to Miracle City. By day, he's a Shadow Paladin seeking to redeem his father's name. By night, he's the viscous Dragon Negro, seeking revenge against those who remind him of those who hurt his mother. This they swear!
1. Chapter 1

Manny groaned as he walked towards school with a groan that would depress most zombies.

Frida was in an equally sour mood.

They had gone on another late-night arcade spree. It wasn't their fault the arcade manager couldn't find a lock that could withstand El Tigre's claws.

Neither of them were watching where they were going, and had subsequently stepped on about four people. They'd knocked over about twelve in their death-walk of agony. It wasn't until they bumped into someone who didn't budge that they were woken from their trance.

Manny shook his head and looked up, expecting to find someone huge, like El Oso, or maybe a huge zombie. Instead, he saw a kid about his size with white hair scribbling on a piece of paper. Manny was shocked, "How can you be doing homework on the way to school?!"

Frida grabbed Manny's arm, "He's doing it last minute… so he can't be a nerd… but he looks like he knows what he's doing… he must be a lazy genius!"

They gasped as he continued to scribble, "Can you help us with our homework?!"

The boy looked up at them, "Um… I don't even know you."

Frida took his hand and started shaking it, "I'm Frida! That's Manny! Now you know us! Help. Now."

The boy looked at their papers, "Just this once, okay? If you need help, I'll tutor you from now on. Frida and Manny, right?"

The pair nodded and watched in amazement as his pencil flew over the pages and filled them with correct answers. Neither of them had ever seen a kid that looked semi-cool be that smart. When he handed them back their papers, it was even done in their handwriting, "Whoa… who are you…?"

The boy shrugged, "Um, my name is Nyx. Nyx Blanco. Oh, crud, we're gonna be late!"

Manny spun his belt buckle, "Not if I can help it!" With the shot of a chain fist and a big leap through the air, they made it to the front of the school with a minute to spare. Manny spun his belt buckle back and pumped his fist in the air, "Alright! On time _and_ my homework is done!"

Nyx looked at his hand and his eyes went wide, "Oh, no! Crud, crud, crud! I dropped my ring!"

As he ran off, Frida pointed at him, "You think we should help him?"

Manny shrugged, "Eh, I'm sure he'll be okay."

* * *

><p>Manny was half-asleep when his math teacher started class, "Okay, kids, today we're getting a new transfer student. He's a little different, but I want you to all make him feel welcome."<p>

Manny looked at Frida, "Think it's that kid from this morning?"

Frida shrugged, "Nah, he's probably too smart to be in our class."

The teacher opened the door to find there was nobody on the other side, "Huh… he should be here by now-"

That was when Nyx came crashing through the window, holding Zebra Donkey in his arms, "Nice try, but it'll take more than that to catch me!" Nyx took off, running full speed out of the room.

Not a second later, skeleton banditos started breaking through the wall. Sartana of the dead pointed to the door with her bony finger, "Get that boy!"

Manny quickly spun his belt buckle and readied his claws, "Sartana!"

Sartana's lip curled, "El Tigre?! First, that boy, now you… Banditos! Ignore El Tigre! Go get back what that boy stole from me!"

Manny tore through the skeletons with ease, "Why are you chasing that kid? What did he steal from you?"

"That's none of your concern!" Sartana struck a chord and blasted Manny into a wall, then struck another to revive her skeletons, "Now go get the boy!"

Nyx burst back through the door and saw Manny as he got up, "Good, I'm not too late. Hey, Sartana! Is this what you're looking for?" Nyx held up a tiny necklace with a stone tied to the end of it.

Sartana gritted her teeth, "Fool! You have no idea what you're holding!"

Nyx started swinging the stone around, "Oh, don't I? Shooting Morningstar!" The chain grew to the size of a rope as the stone turned into a morningstar. Nyx swung it around and knocked the banditos around with ease. Nyx grinned, "Give it up, Sartana! We both know who's gonna win this fight!"

Sartana pointed her guitar at Nyx, "Insolent child!"

Nyx swung the morningstar as fast as he could, then let it fly directly at Sartana. Sartana tried to blast it, but the morningstar shot through the cloud of smoke that rolled off it as fast as it had been thrown, knocking Sartana's head clean off. The morningstar shot back to Nyx, who caught its chain, "If that's the best you've got, Sartana, I've got all day!"

Sartana picked up her head and placed it back on her neck, "You may have that necklace for now, boy, but mark my words, it WILL be MINE!" With that, Sartana retreated.

Nyx helped Manny up, "El Tigre, right? Thanks for stalling for me. I don't know HOW Zebra Donkey managed to get my dad's necklace stuck in his teeth, but I'm glad I got it back."

Manny was going to say something to Nyx, but Nyx was carried off by a crowd of amazed kids and grateful teachers. Frida was surprised, "Whoa… that was awesome."

Manny was shocked, too, "He beat Sartana so easily…"

Frida looked at the ground, "Hey, what's this?" She picked up a tiny ring with a dragon carved onto it, "Hey, Manny, look at this ring! I think it's made of gold!"

Manny looked at it, "Cool! Wait… there's a name on it."

Frida groaned, "Great, now how are we supposed to sell it?"

"It says… Blanco. Isn't that Nyx's last name?"

"Oh, yeah. I wonder if it turns into a weapon! Let me try it on!" Frida put it on her finger, "Weapon mode! Go! Activate! Do something!" She waved it around, but to no avail, "Maybe you have to twist it?"

"Maybe his necklace is the only magic weapon he has."

Frida shook her head, "No way. I'm gonna figure out how this thing works, this I swear!"

* * *

><p>After several hours of trying, Frida's resolve wasn't as strong, "*pant, pant*... Work you stupid thing!"<p>

Manny was getting tired of watching, "Frida… I really don't think it has any powers…"

Grandpapi tucked some cash into his back pocket as he walked in and noticed Frida's ring, "HOLY GUACAMOLE! WHERE DID JU GET THAT RING?!"

Frida was almost ready to just chuck the thing, "On the ground. A kid we know dropped it."

"Dat's not just any ring, mijo! That's the ring of the Golden Dragon! It was stolen by the Spanish conquistador Cortez! It is said that to those who know how to use it, limitless fortune is within their grasp! May I see it?"

Frida tried to pull it off, "Um… it's stuck! I can't get it off!"

Grandpapi pulled with all his strength, but it wasn't going to budge, "*sigh* Frida, when ju get it to work, ju call me."

Manny stared at the ring, "Limitless fortune? Frida… why would Nyx have something that every super villain in town would want?"

It was then that White Pantera opened the door, "Manny! Good news! This boy said that he would volunteer to tutor you! It's Nyx Blanco if I'm saying that right."

Nyx nodded, "You're good Mr. Rivera. Hey, Manny, you got your math homework?"

Frida put her hand into her pocket, "Hey, I just remembered that I need to go, bye!" Frida dove through the window.

Nyx looked at Manny, "Is she okay?"

Manny shrugged, "She'll be fine. Ugh... do we really have to do math?"

Nyx patted Manny's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll keep it simple. You like tacos, right?"

"Yes."

"Cool. So if you have one cow, you can make enough meat to have ten tacos."

"Ten tacos? That's it?"

"We're pretending, just pretend that's right. So if you have two cows, how many tacos can you make?"

"Twenty?"

"See? It's not that hard."

"Can you make all math this easy?!"

"I can try..."

* * *

><p>Frida snuck into the Rivera house so that Nyx, who was chatting with Grandpapi for some reason, wouldn't see her. She whispered, "Manny... I can't get this thing off! This stupid ring won't come off and I think-... did you do all your homework?"<p>

Manny held out a paper, all of it completely filled out correctly, "Read it and weep. I'm officially smart enough to do math! Nyx taught me how to do math using tacos! It was fun!"

"Math... fun?" Frida felt Manny's forehead, "Not sick. Not a zombie."

"Rita, for real, he's an amazing teacher! He's even smarter than the teachers!"

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Grandpapi ran over to Manny, "Manny! I need ju to loan me a dollar! I swear, I'll win it back!"

Nyx patted Grandpapi's back and handed him back his wallet, "Here, I was just kidding, Mr. Rivera. I would never take money from you. Just stay away from poker tables."

Now Rita was impressed. Grandpapi was the one who had taught her how to cheat at every casino game known to man. Not even rolling dice was fair play when the Rivera elder was involved. Rita grabbed Nyx's collar, "Teach me your ways, master of wisdom!"

Nyx looked down at Rita's finger, "Rule one of stealing." He held up her hand, "Don't bring the stolen goods back to the person you stole them from. But, considering how often I actually drop my ring... you probably just picked it up. Can I have it back now? It's really important to me and I would kill to get it back."

Frida was very afraid.

Nyx shook his head, "I'm just kidding! Relax! But seriously, I need that back. Please."

Frida shrugged, "Um... it's stuck... I can't get it off."

Nyx looked at the ring, "Aw... great. Okay, Frida, I promise that this won't hurt..." He pulled the ring off as Frida shouted in pain, "...much."

"Did you just run over my finger with a cement truck?!"

"Sorry, but at least there's no damage to your finger. This ring means a lot to me. It was my mom's, and she... it's the last thing she left to me. Family is important, you know?"

Manny patted Frida's shoulder, "Sorry Frida, he's right. Family is important."

Nyx slipped the ring onto his finger and the dragon on it moved around the ring in a circle. Nyx sighed, "Ah... much better. Oh, crud, I have to get going! I need to go tutor someone else! Frida, I promise I'll tutor you tomorrow! Bye! Thank you for being so kind, Mr. Rivera!"

Frida squinted, "Something is wrong here... and not just because my finger hurts."

* * *

><p>Nyx looked at his ring, "Mom... this is for you." He twisted the ring around his hand, "Miracle City... prepare yourself..."<p>

* * *

><p>Manny held his claws back as he prepared to strike, "Nice try, Oso! You won't win that easy!"<p>

Oso punched El Tigre into a wall, "Or I will, man!"

Manny got up to fight again when a roar shook the earth and the skies. A black shadow knocked Oso into the air, then deep into the dirt. The shadow emerged, a boy outfitted with sleek-black armor(complete with black clawed gauntlets), a dragon-shaped helmet, and wings that were darker than the night sky. The shadow roared at the moon, "El Endriago Negro!"

El Tigre basked in the fighter's powerful aura, "Whoa..."

El Endriago looked at El Tigre, "Go home, hero. I've got work to do and I don't need you in my way."

El Tigre dusted himself off, "Who said I'm a hero? Besides, I can fight anyone you can."

El Endriago cracked his knuckles, "If you _could_ beat me, I'd welcome you to join me."

"Oh, you're gonna eat those words!" Manny launched a chain fist at El Endriago, who caught it in his palm.

With the flick of the wrist and a swift kick, El Endriago sent El Tigre on a one-way flight back home. He cracked his knuckles, "Now... where is that moronic bear? I need a good example for these criminals."

* * *

><p>As he finished pounding in the face of the last zombie, El Endriago picked up the bird-like jewel, "These brainless fools."<p>

"I couldn't agree more!" With a quick swoop, a flash of black feathers snatched away the jewel, "See ya, sucker!"

El Endriago soared into the air and grabbed Black Cuervo's hand, "I don't hit girls normally, but if you're really going to play rough, I'll just have to play along."

After crashing into the road, Black Cuervo fired her laser, "You'll pay for that!"

El Endriago evaded the shot and smirked behind his mask, "Bring it on."

The two clashed in the sky, back and forth until they were facing each other in the sky, only a few feet of air between them. Cuervo smiled, "You've got some moves, lizard boy."

El Endriago shrugged, "You're not so bad yourself, bird-brain. Sadly, I've got somewhere to be. Revenge doesn't serve itself."

Cuervo perked up, "Revenge?! Can I help! I love revenge!"

El Endriago was confused, "Depends… do you like beating other criminals to a pulp and taking all their loot?"

Cuervo's grin widened, "Oh, I think we're going to make a GREAT team."

* * *

><p>El Endriago smiled, "You know what, Cuervo, I don't think I've ever met a super villain that's quite like you."<p>

Cuervo blushed, "Stop it, you're embarrassing me!"

"No, I mean it! The way you tore through those skeleton banditos…"

"The way YOU knocked Sartana's head clean off!"

The two were very, very close. El Endriago looked at her, how beautiful she looked standing on top of the unconscious robot as the sparks from its torn circuits flew behind her. Cuervo was equally stunned by the way the moonlight shined against the armor that complimented what must have been chiseled muscles. El Endriago looked at the rising sun behind her, that gave her a beautiful aura…

THE RISING SUN!

El Endriago spread out his wings, "Um… I have to go! Here, keep this so I can find you again!"

Cuervo caught the black diamond as she held her hand up, "Wait! When will I see you again?!"

El Endriago shouted as he flew off into the night, "Tomorrow night!"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I let my guard down!" Manny complained, having recovered from his fight the night before.<p>

Frida patted his back, "Eh, it happens sometimes. Forget about it! There's a half-off on all tokens sale going on at the arcade after school today!"

Manny forgot about his pride, "You're right, there are more important things to do today!"

As the two rushed to get to school, they crashed into Nyx again. This time, Nyx fell over. Nyx stood up and dusted himself off, "You guys really need to learn to watch where you're going…"

Manny slapped his forehead, "That's right! Nyx! Teach Frida to do math! Use churros! She'll have math down in no time!"

Frida heard 'churros' and she was up, "Teach me!"

Nyx raised his eyebrow, "What are churros?"

Frida gasped like no gasp had ever been gasped before, "GASP IN SHOUTING VOICE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT CHURROS ARE?! THIS HEINOUS CRIME WILL BE RECTIFIED! THIS I SWEAR!"

* * *

><p>At lunch, Nyx was forced to sit next to Manny and Frida, who had a mountain of churros on the table. Manny and Frida were talking about them while Nyx had started daydreaming. He sighed and Frida snapped in front of him, "Nyx! Are you even listening?!"<p>

Nyx shook himself out of it, "Um… yes?"

Frida gasped again, "SECOND GASP! You have a crush on someone, don't you, Nyx?!"

Nyx blushed and turned away, "No."

"Uh-huh. Then what were you thinking about just now?"

Nyx looked around desperately until he noticed a girl with black hair sitting by herself, "I-I was just thinking that girl over there shouldn't have to sit by herself. I'm going to go ask her if she wants to sit with us."

Frida pointed at Nyx, "Evil! Zoe Avez is not going to sit at MY table!"

Nyx had already walked over to Zoe's table, where she was stabbing some brown mush with a fork. Nyx smiled at her, "Hey, you want to come sit with us? We have churros."

Zoe looked up at him, he was very handsome, and his smile seemed genuine, "No thanks."

Nyx shrugged, "Can I sit with you, then?"

Zoe looked up at him, just how nice can one person be? "If you're trying to be nice to me to get on my good side, it won't work."

Nyx shook his head, "Wouldn't dream of it." He took a seat and looked at the brown mush, "That looks… slightly edible."

"Knock it 'till you try it. Why don't you go eat churros with your friends over there?"

"They're not really my friends, they just know me. What about you? Where are your friends?"

"I don't have any."

"Guess that means we're in the same boat, huh?"

"Don't lump me in with a goody-two-shoes who saves the school with a magic necklace."

"Goody-two-shoes? I'm hurt. Who brought Sartana to the school in the first place? Who stole from her?"

"_You _stole from Sartana of the dead? I don't believe you."

Nyx reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden coin with a skull imprinted on it, "Take a look, then."

Zoe looked at the coin, "Wow, you got one coin."

"Not just any coin. Watch this. Golden Necromancer!" Nyx flipped the coin into the air and caught it, a black flame covered his body as bones grew over his skin like armor, "Ever seen an undead dog mawl a mailman?"

Zoe shook her head, "No."

Nyx slammed his hand against the ground and it opened up, releasing a zombie-dog with sharp fangs, "How about a vice principal?"

Zoe watched the dog rush down the hall and catch the vice principal. She shrugged, "It's a _little_ cool, I guess."

The armor shrank back into a coin and Nyx held it out toward Zoe, "You feel like ditching school for a good time?"

Zoe bit her lip.

* * *

><p>"This is awesome!" Nyx shouted as they flew through the sky on the back of a revived pterodactyl.<p>

Zoe grinned as she commanded the T-Rex she was riding, "This is so much fun!"

Their joy ride came to end as the beasts dropped them off at the Miracle City Volcano. The two laughed as their adrenaline began to wear off. Nyx smiled, "Am I still a goody-two-shoes?"

Zoe shook her head, "No way! That was better than the time Frida did a faceplant off the school stage!"

"Are you enjoying yourself, NYX?"

Nyx looked up to see a man in white armor, "Uncle Griff?! What are you doing here?!"

"I came to see what all the ruckus was, and low and behold, my only nephew is playing hookie with the undead again! How many times am I going to catch you doing this?!"

Nyx held his hands up, "C'mon, Uncle, you know me, I made sure nobody got hurt! And I already did all my work for today!"

Griff turned Nyx around and pointed at the destroyed street, "I assume you have the money to pay for the damages as well?"

Nyx smiled nervously, "Oh… still working on that."

Griff sighed, "Nyx, I told you about your father's legacy as a the White Paladin so that you could learn to fight evil and do good. Not so that you could take advantage of the manipulatable nature of the undead to goof off. I know you are just a boy trying to have fun, but please, Nyx, do me a favor and stop."

Nyx sighed, "Okay… I'll stop using the Coin of Cortez to have fun with the undead."

Griff smiled and shot off, "Okay, behave yourself!"

Zoe frowned, "Wow… just like that?"

Nyx smiled, "What are you talking about? I said _I _couldn't. _You_ weren't part of that statement."

"You sly little crook!'

"Shall we continue where we left off?"

Zoe's wrist-communicator began ringing, "Sorry! I have to uh… go someplace! For ah, um… a reason!" She tossed him the coin and ran as fast as she could. No doubt her mother and grandmother had made plans for the heist that night.

Nyx looked down at the coin, then saw that Zoe had written her number on it. Talk about stealing two treasures with one swipe.

* * *

><p>Back at the Rivera house, Grandpapi was frantically pacing by the door until Frida and Manny arrived. Manny was bright as usual, "Grandpapi, I'm home-"<p>

Grandpapi grabbed Frida's shoulders, "FRIDA! Ju got the ring working, jes?"

Frida shook her head, "Um… no. Nyx got his ring back yesterday. Why?"

"NOOOOOO! Dat ring, it can create diamonds!"

Manny and Frida leaned in, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!"

Grandpapi snapped his fingers, "Dis boy who had it, what was his name?"

"He's the guy that beat you at poker."

"Dat sneaky weasel! Manny, take note of how cunning he is, you could do well to be more cunning. I'm going to find that ring tonight if I have to pry it from the hands of baby!" After that, Grandpapi's hat turned into a mech-suit and he was gone.

* * *

><p>That night, Nyx stood on his balcony and stared at the moon. The voice of a woman broke the silence, "Nyx? Are you okay? You look sad."<p>

Nyx shrugged, "I'm okay, Aunt Mira, Uncle Griff just caught me taking zombie dinosaurs for a joyride… again."

Mira waved her hand, "Don't let that stuck-up book-worm keep you down. Your parents left you wonderful gifts, and not just your good looks. You have the right as a night-being to control the filthy garbage that is beneath you. Your mother didn't leave you that ring because you're normal. She left it to you because you are an extraordinary boy with a grand destiny!"

"Griff says I'm grounded. He locked my ring and my necklace inside his vault."

Mira held out the ring and the necklace, "What, this necklace and ring?"

"You're the best, Aunt Mira."

"I know, but Griff also mentioned a girl. Who's the lucky lady, Nyx?"

Nyx put the ring and the necklace on and jumped off the balcony. A roar shook the earth and sky as El Endriago took to the skies, "Bye, Aunt Mira!"


	2. Chapter 2

Cuervo flew through the sky with a frown. Her family had already robbed the bank and yet, there was not even a peep from the mysterious Black Dragon that had gifted her with the precious black diamond. She pulled it from her pocket and looked at it.

Her mother caught sight of it, "Cuervo... what is that?"

Cuervo hid it behind her back, "Nothing!"

"Oh really? If it's nothing, you won't mind throwing it away."

Cuervo was sweating when a familiar voice came to her rescue, "Cuervo. Let's go. We have losers to pummel into the dirt."

Voltura crossed her arms, "And just who are you?''

El Endriago held up one claw, "I'm going to let you off because you don't hurt people when you steal. The talent of the flock is flying solo tonight."

Lady Cobbler readied her laser staff, "What was that?"

"You heard me. I came for the best, not the rest."

Voltura cracked her knuckles, "Oh... Now you are in for it!"

El Endriago chuckled, "If you want to wind up in the hospital like El Oso, I dearly invite you to try."

"YOU ARE THE ONE THAT DID THAT TO EL OSO?!"

El Endriago smiled, "I had a little help. So... can a guy have fun with a girl, or is this going to get ugly?"

El Tigre's fist flew through the air as he came shooting behind it, "Only as ugly as you are!"

El Endriago caught El Tigre by the collar, "I'm sick of you. Begone."

With the flick of the wrist, El Tigre caught his second flight of the week. Voltura and Lady Cobbler watched in awe until he turned his attention back to them, "Last chance to reconsider."

Voltura shrugged, "Cuervo, why don't you play with this nice boy while your grandmother and I go steal some priceless artifacts?"

The two older bird-villains flew off into the night as El Endriago looked back at Cuervo, "Cowards."

Cuervo slapped him hard across the face, "Nobody threatens and insults my mama and gradnmama but me!"

El Endriago scoffed, "Like I thought. You have guts... and honor. Nice. You ready to be bad?"

A missile shot by his head as an angry voice pierced the air, "JU WILL FACE THE WRATH OF PUMA LOCO IF JU DO NOT HAND OVER DE DIAMONDS! Also, you hurt my grandson, WHICH I CANNOT FORGIVE!"

El Endriago looked to Cuervo, "You ready to help this old man slip into a catnap?"

Cuervo smiled, "Revenge against a Rivera? Let's do this."

* * *

><p>As he climbed into his room Nyx couldn't help but think Cuervo's shooting was spot-on. Nothing is cooler than a really cool girl with a gun except a girl with a gun who knows how to use it. He looked out over the city and sighed, "Ah... who are you, Black Cuervo...?"<p>

"Why don't you tell me? Who is Black Cuervo?"

Nyx turned around, "Uncle Griff! You're home early!"

"Imagine my surprise when I found you weren't here. Where were you, Nyx? Out looking for more objects of great power to use?"

"No! I told you, I don't care about more power! I'm happy the way I am! I don't need to change!"

"Nyx... *sigh* I will always love and accept you for who you are, but if you insist on becoming a villain-"

"Hey! I NEVER said I was a villain! Or a HERO! I am Nyx Blanco! And I am proud of who I am!"

Griff patted his shoulder, "Nyx, I know that you have a good heart, so I will trust that you are still the boy I know. I love you, Nyx, you know that you can tell me anything, right? I'm not your father, and I never will be, but I will always be here for you."

"Thank you, Uncle Griff."

"And please, whenever my evil sister tells you that you're part of a superior race that should rule the earth-"

"I'm still just a human being."

Nyx patted his shoulder again, "Good. Now hand over the ring."

"Really?"

"You hospitalized two villains that you didn't have to. I appreciate you fighting crime, but until you learn to control your rage, you'll have to tone it back."

Nyx held out the two items, "Here."

"And the coin."

"I... might have... dropped the coin."

"Are you being serious or are you lying?" Griff had to ask because there was a real chance he could have dropped it, knowing how often he dropped things.

"I dropped it. For real."

"*sigh* Sartana will probably find it, but if I find out you have it, I'll be taking it. Goodnight, Nyx."

"Goodnight, Uncle Griff."

The second Griff closed the door, Mira landed on the balcony, "Nyx! I'm so proud of you! You owned those losers and put them in their place!"

"Griff took my stuff."

"You need me to steal it back?"

Nyx pulled out a gold coin and flipped it between his fingers, "I think I got it covered."

* * *

><p>Nyx felt the churro hit his head for the gazillionth time as Frida chanted, "Eat the churro, eat the churro, eat the churro!"<p>

Nyx looked at Frida, "If you guys wanted me to eat a churro, why did you eat the mountain of churros you had yesterday?"

Frida and Manny frowned with tears in their eyes, "They were churros... how could we resist...?"

Nyx finally took hold of the treat, "If I eat this, will you stop poking me in the face with it?"

"Yeah! Eat it!"

Nyx tried a bite and found that it was utterly delicious. He kept his composure, "Wow, that's really good."

Frida threw her hands up, "Yeah! Now that you know the miracle that is churros, you want to take us for a zombie joyride, right?"

Nyx squinted, "How do you two know about that?"

"We skipped school and went to the arcade. That T-Rex almost stepped on my face! Can I ride it?!"

Nyx rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm actually in a lot of trouble right now. If my Uncle catches me on another zombie joyride, he'll ground me for a month. Besides, if I skip another day this week, I'll get expelled."

Frida frowned, "That's lame..."

"But..."

"But?"

"I _might_ have been invited to a totally sick party that's strictly invite-only and three guests of my choice."

"Wait... which one?"

Nyx leaned in and whispered quietly, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah."

"You know that band, the Night of the Undead?"

"*GASP* Are they playing at the party? They rock!"

"I... I know the lead singer."

"YOU DO?!"

Nyx tried to calm Frida down, "Frida, you can't tell anyone. You either, Manny!"

The pair nodded, "Got it."

Nyx handed them two envelopes, "It's tomorrow night, don't be late!"

The pair looked at the envelopes like they were gold, "Whoa..."

Nyx walked out of class and looked around, "Now where is she...?" Nyx finally found the gymnasium and opened the door to see the girl's fencing team practicing. The two sparring were some girl the size of a gorilla and Zoe. To Nyx's surprise, Zoe was totally dominating the larger girl with perfect execution and swift strikes.

Nyx's jaw hit the floor as his heart was stolen by the display of grace, beauty, and elegance. Zoe noticed him and walked over to check on him, "Nyx? What are you doing here?"

Nyx tried to snap himself out of it, "G-guitar, band, player, concert..."

"You need a guitar player for a concert?"

Nyx nodded, "Y-Yeah..." She even was intelligent enough to make out his incoherent babble.

Zoe crossed her arms, "What makes you think I know how to play the guitar?"

"I-I heard you playing when I passed by the music room this morning. You rock harder than any guitar player I've ever heard."

Zoe raised her eyebrow, "Better than Frida Suarez?"

Nyx's brain was blank of every other girl in the world, "Who?"

Zoe smiled, "You got a deal. So where is this gig, anyway?"

"It's tomorrow night. Um... before you say yes... I need to tell you something."

"What?"

Nyx looked around, "Follow me, it's not safe to talk here."

After leading her into a broom closet, Zoe became a little flustered. She had never been alone with a boy like this before, and Nyx was her type: fun, handsome, and very kind. She rubbed the tip of her foot against the floor, "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Nyx's first thought was to say 'I love you' and run away as fast as possible. Sadly, he really did need her help and he was too scared to tell her, "Um... I'm not just the Nyx you know... I have... another identity."

"Another identity?"

"Yeah... my secret identity... the real truth... I'm actually..."

"Actually who?"

"I'm... Styx Whitman... the lead singer for Night of the Undead."

Zoe's brain instantly remembered her favorite band, whose wonderful songs had brightened her days countless times. And the dreamy voice of the lead singer just had the ability to melt her heart. She now stared at that boy with big, sparkly eyes, "You sang 'Eat Mi Heart for Mi Amor'?!"

Nyx nodded, "Yeah."

"If you don't mind me asking... who were you thinking about when you wrote it?"

Nyx scratched the back of his head, "I... didn't have anyone then... I still don't..." Nyx realize what he sounded like as his face turned red, "Um... I mean... I d-don't have a girlfriend... uh..."

Zoe thought his shy and innocent confusion was adorable, "Don't worry, I would love to play for your band. And your secret is safe with me."

Nyx watched her leave with a longing in his heart to talk to her a little longer. He was still staring at the door when it shut with a dreamy expression on his face.

* * *

><p>Griff walked through the street of Miracle City calmly until he bumped into White Pantera. The White Pantera recognized him instantly, "*GASP* You are Griff Blanco! You're the Shining Paladin that stopped the zombie invasion in North City!"<p>

Griff smiled, "White Pantera, right? My nephew tells me your son is a good boy. I hear you have an undead infestation in miracle city. Is this true?"

"Ah, well, you see, the problems are more often than not caused by the living. The undead actually tend to keep to themselves. You see, they're not the average undead, they are still alive of their own will."

"I see. So it's not an infestation of mindless hordes. To have such civilized creatures of the undead, I have to say, this truly is Miracle City."

"Why, thank you."

"You nephew, I understand that he has some of the weapons of light his father left him. Is he a paladin as well?"

"Actually, Nyx's relations to the undead are a little complicated. He actually does very well when it comes to communicating with them. He's actually befriended many of them and reformed them into spirits of light. He's what you would call a 'shadow paladin', his abilities to fight the undead and control them are about equal. His father would be so proud of him if he were here to see him now..."

Pantera handed Griff a tissue, "I can only imagine."

Griff blew his nose, "Yes. Although, sometimes I worry that he doesn't take his responsibilities seriously."

Pantera smiled, "Tell me about it. Manny has the same issue. Most of the time, it's due to his grandfather's influence."

"Yes, my evil sister has the same effect on Nyx. I wonder..."

"What?"

"Manny has the heart of a hero, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"What if we set up a crime-fighting day for Manny and Nyx to work together? That way, they'll learn to do good on their own while fighting together to reduce the risk of getting hurt!"

"That's brilliant! I'll tell Manny so that he and Nyx can prepare for tomorrow! Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Blanco!"

Griff shook Pantera's hand, "And thank you, Mr. Rivera. It's always good to talk to a fellow hero."

* * *

><p>Mira looked at Voltura and smirked, "I'm guessing he scared you pretty good last night, huh?"<p>

"Silence, Chimera Mira! This Dragon boy, he runs off with my daughter at night and leaves me one short of a flock! He even beat Puma Loco last night!"

"Black Cuervo has a crush on El Endriago?"

"Why do you care?"

"El Endriago is an associate of mine. I normally take whatever money his enemies manage to muster while he defeats them. But now that I think about it, since he doesn't fight you, that leaves you free to rob whatever place you want; they'll all be free of any villains that would get in your way. A good trade-off, don't you think? And since he hospitalized a guy or two, he already has the police chasing after him, getting them out of your way, too."

"At the cost of my daughter?"

"You said she stood by and insulted you as she flew off with the boy who threatened to pummel you to death."

Voltura shrugged, "Good point."

Mira smiled as she thought to herself, _"Good luck with your girl tonight, Nyx. There will be nobody to get in your way."_


	3. Chapter 3

Zoe tuned her guitar in her room, think about how cute Nyx had looked, giving up his closest secret to her. He was a total marshmallow, but he was a sweet marshmallow.

"Zoe!", Zoe looked at her mother, who threw the door open with no care at all for what she might break, "Tonight, you and your boyfriend are free to beat up whoever you wish."

Zoe had forgotten all about El Endriago Negro until her mother had reminded her. Zoe bit her lip, "Um... mom?"

"Yes, yes, I know you're excited to do this and nothing in the world would stop you, not even me. Your grandmother and I will be out stealing while you and El Endriago are out doing what it is you two do." Her mother slammed the door behind her.

Zoe was left to her dilemma alone, forced to choose. Would she go out that night as Black Cuervo and fight along side El Endriago?

Or would she go to practice songs with Nyx as Zoe Aves?

_"It's okay." _She thought to herself, _"It's a simple choice! Just go tell that dreamy, innocent, handsome boy who loves you for who you are that you don't want to spend time with him! ... NO! You have a job to do! Besides, El Endriago appreciates your skills as a villain! It's not like Nyx cares about that. See? You can make the choice between the two people in your life who treat you like an equal who happen to be... very... attractive..."_

Zoe slammed her face into her pillow as her guts felt twisted.

This was NOT an easy choice.

* * *

><p>Nyx smiled nervously as he looked at Manny, "So um... what kind of crime do you want to fight?"<p>

Manny squinted at Nyx, "I don't know. What kind of abilities do you have?"

_"I have a black dragon that lives in my heart and can be unleashed to give me super-strength and speed, but it only works as long as I'm driven into a blind rage with no real target other than people who hurt other people. Also, it makes diamonds for those it deems allies. Oh, and sunlight absolutely destroys the black armor it makes.__" _Nyx bit his tongue, trying hard to think of what abilities he had when he was under control of his emotions, "Um... I can summon the undead in the form of spirits of light... I can fight against the undead really well since I have a soul of light... and I have my dad's necklace, which turns into any weapon I can think of."

"You can summon the undead? I thought your family was a paladin group?"

"Well... yes... but my dad discovered a way to not only free the dead from unholy bonds, but he could befriend them, too. My dad's side of the family are all regular paladins... except my aunt Mira."

"Why isn't your aunt a paladin?"

"She's evil. She's a necromancer, which, by definition, is the opposite of a paladin."

"What about your mom?"

"My mom wasn't a hero or a villain. My dad met her because he heard about a terrible beast that brings nothing but suffering and destruction. An old Aztec legend called 'the Black Dragon'. Legend had it the beast was uncontrollable, but my mom was part of an ancient society that kept the dragon at bay. My mom was actually supposed to be sacrificed to the dragon, but my dad saved her and defeated the dragon."

"Whoa... that's so cool!"

"Yeah... dad was cool."

"Um... what happened to him?"

Nyx looked at his feet, "The Dragon's curse... all those who touch the dragon have their skin turned to the black diamonds that cover the dragon. Their hearts are stopped forever in solid crystal."

"Oh... that... sucks..."

Nyx shook his head and smiled, "I'm okay, though. I'm a paladin, just like he was. So I can still fight the unholy evil that walks the earth!"

Manny smiled, "That's the spirit! You ready to go kick some butt?!"

Nyx's necklace turned into a sword, "Yeah! Let's do this!"

* * *

><p>Griff and Rodolfo sat at the table and sipped tea. Griff checked his watch, "That's odd. Nyx is late. He usually makes it a habit to be on time."<p>

Rodolfo looked at his watch, "Just wait. Five... four... three... two... one... now."

El Tigre kicked the door open, his hair still flaming, "The way you punched that skeleton bandito in the face! He was all like 'No! Not the face!' Ha ha ha!"

Nyx's jacket was half-torn as he laughed, "The way YOU smashed Sartana's guitar! She was all like 'No! Not my guitar!' Ha ha ha!"

Rodolfo smiled, "Manny! Nyx! I assume you two had fun today, fighting the forces of evil?"

The two were already best friends, "Yeah! It was awesome!"

Griff smiled widely, "See, Nyx, you can have fun _and _fight evil. Manny, I would like to thank you for doing this. It's hard to find friends for kids who are fighting evil."

The pair smiled widely, both decidedly happy with leaving out the number of churro trucks in town had been lowered by one, "Yes, you can!"

Manny gasped, "Hey! Since you and me are such a good team, we could totally take down El Endriago together!"

The color drained from Nyx's and Griff's faces, but Nyx tried to salvage the situation, "Um... maybe El Endriago won't be out tonight?"

Rodolfo raised his eyebrow, "Who is this 'El Endriago'?"

Manny shook his fist, "Some guy who has been tearing up Miracle City! Grandpapi took him on last night-"

Grandpapi came through the door, "Dat little weasel has no honor! He hides behind a mask of pure diamond that I can't steal! If only I he would fight me mano-y-mano! I would cream him! But he has dat little bird girl backing him up. Coward!"

Rodolfo stood up, "Papi, if you deem him a coward, then he must be stopped! Only true criminals are beneath your standards! Manny! Tonight, we shall defeat this menace! Nyx, Griff, would you like to join us?"

Griff cleared his throat, "We would love too, but Nyx has another engagement this evening. Thank you for the offer, though. Perhaps some other time."

As they left the house, Nyx grabbed his hair, "Oh crap! If Black Cuervo goes out tonight, she'll get destroyed by the Riveras! And Zoe! If I don't show up, she'll kill me!"

Griff put his hand on Nyx's shoulder, "I'm sure that Black Cuervo will be fine. She _is_ a supervillian, after all. Besides, doesn't her family fight with-"

Mira fell from the sky and landed gracefully, "Nyx! Good news! I got Black Cuervo's family to ditch her tonight so that you can spend more time with her! You don't look excited. Why do you both look like you've done something horribly wrong?"

Frida came out of nowhere, "Hey, Nyx! I lost you guys when you and Manny were running! Why do you look like someone just stepped on your churro?"

Nyx grabbed Frida's shoulder, "Frida, if you do me a favor, I will get you a truck full of churros."

"WHAT DO YOU NEED?"

"Do you hate Zoe Aves? I get the impression you two hate each other."

"Revenge on Zoe _and_ churros... Nyx, you're my new second best friend."

"I need you to stall her on her way to my house. Make sure she's late, okay?"

"I can do that."

* * *

><p>Manny landed on the rooftop next to his father, "Papa, I don't think he's out here tonight. We've looked all over town..."<p>

Rodolfo sighed, "I fear he may not strike tonight."

Grandpapi shook his fist, "Of course that coward would run in fear of the power of the Rivera men! You hear me, coward! We will destroy ju!"

Nyx looked up at the rooftop from the street with a heavy heart, _"Oh no... I was just supposed to go into this fight with an iron heart, win, and leave." _Nyx looked at the armor on his arm, it was nearly transparent, _"I can't do this... I don't want to hurt Manny or his family... damn it... my will is so weak that my armor is barely glass..."_

Nyx sighed, "This is gonna suck... but I promised Zoe... and I need to keep Cuervo safe..."

* * *

><p>Zoe looked at her wrist-communicator as she looked at the time, <em>"Well... maybe if I do this quickly, I can have time to go be Black Cuervo! That's genius! Way to think, Zoe! You can do this!"<em>

It was then that her train of thought was severed by a certain blue-haired girl, "Hey, Zoe. What are you doing with that guitar there?"

Zoe gritted her teeth, "Frida Suarez... you know what? I'm not telling you. You can find out when I show the rest of the world."

Frida pulled out her guitar, "Please, I could out-play you with my eyes closed."

Zoe had planned to show Frida up at the concert as the best guitar player in Miracle City, but now Frida was just _asking _for it.

Plans were set aside. Revenge time.

* * *

><p>Nyx ran as another missile exploded behind him. The police shining a spotlight on him and the massive robots chasing him didn't help him find a place to escape, either.<p>

If he hadn't been able to fly, White Pantera would have caught up with him by then. Nyx's muscles ached as he landed on a rooftop. It wasn't long before White Pantera was pointing at him, "El Endriago! Surrender and we will go easy on you!"

Nyx's armor was so heavy, and his body had grown weak from his fighting earlier that day alongside El Tigre. Now that El Tigre was staring him down, he wasn't even sure he would be able to escape. He couldn't surrender, if he did, the dragon would be lost and Nyx's identity would be revealed. Nyx held his heart, _"It's North City all over again... every time I find a city full of criminals, there's always a hero who becomes my friend that I can't protect from my inner dragon... I can't hurt Manny... but if I don't keep my identity secret, people will fear me. No... I can do this! Just figure out a reason for you to fight, Nyx! C'mon! There has to be something!"_

El Tigre readied his fist, "El Endriago! Prepare for a smack-down!"

Nyx saw a giant robot about to step on Manny, and before he could think, he found himself holding it's foot off the ground, keeping Manny from being crushed. While he wasn't strong enough to throw it off, his armor alone kept the space open. El Endriago kicked El Tigre out of the way before the robot pushed him into the gravel. The Riveras quickly took down the large monsters and whatnot that had been following El Endriago in hopes of taking revenge on him. When all the fighting was done, the trio returned to see that El Endriago was still stuck in the hole he was pushed into.

Puma Loco crossed his arms, "Ah... is this even the same kid that we fought the other night? Manny, something is wrong."

El Tigre pulled El Endriago out of the crater, "Dude, are you okay? You just got your butt handed to you. And that guy didn't even see you."

El Endriago looked up to see the police all around him and the Riveras. Then he saw the clock tower. The time was ten minutes to midnight. El Endriago pulled himself free, "I need to... go..." He tripped over a rock on the floor and he knew that with his armor on, he wouldn't be able to get back up. He reached for the gravel in front of him and began crawling, "Can't... be... late..."

White Pantera pushed his brows together, "Manny, I think this boy has had enough punishment for one night. We should just hand him over to the police and-"

"Sorry, but this boy is not fit for jail." The Riveras looked to see a tall woman with scarlet red hair in a scarlet dress, "I'll be stealing all valuables in his place. Hellhound, be a good boy carry him to his destination." A zombie-like dog grabbed El Endriago by the collar and sped away with the speed of a car.

"Who are you?"

"Aye, aye, aye. Boys, boys, boys..." She held up Rodolfo's belt, Grandpapi's wallet, and El Tigre's pants, "Haven't you ever heard of Candy-finger Chimera? Five finger discounts are my specialty. Catch me if you can, boys." Fire caught the bottom of her dress as she began to fly off.

Grandpapi checked his back pocket, "That _bruja _stole all my money! Get her!"

El Tigre looked at his bare legs, "How did she get my pants over my feet?"

White Pantera held his pants up with one hand and pointed with the other, "Get that villainous woman who stole my son's pants off!"

* * *

><p>Zoe panted, having finally finished fighting off Frida, she was exhausted. With no chance to keep track of time and having been exhausted by battling it out tooth and nail with her arch nemesis, she didn't even notice that she was several hours late. She was about to knock on the door when a gigantic dog crashed through a window.<p>

Nyx opened the door, his clothes torn in several places via claw marks, "Hey... sorry if you had to wait out here... I had a long day... you okay? You look like you just got mauled by a pack of rabid cats."

Zoe looked to see that her clothes had been burned, torn, and dirtied by her fight with Frida. She shrugged, "How'd you know? A pack of evil cats broke out of the pound."

Nyx shrugged, "Those evil cats must've been killer. You want to come inside?"

Zoe plopped down on the couch, exhausted from her busy week of being a criminal left her with little sleep and she normally was passed out in bed at that time. She had to shake herself awake, "So... what kind of songs are we going to play?"

Nyx was blinking to keep his eyelids from closing completely as he sat down with some sheets of paper, "Well, most of them are songs I did the last time I did shows, but I was working on a new one-"

"How do you juggle being a pop star and being a student?"

_"Um... by knowing that being a temporary pop star is the only way to take down a local necromancer ring that's run by an evil choreographer? No... she would probably think I was lame if I only did it once to be good. She'd probably think I was even lamer if I actually told her that I was making a comeback to try to make friends... think, think hard, Nyx! And don't lie, she's too smart to see when you're lying! But don't tell her that you're trying to impress her! Don't be an arrogant jerk, either! Just don't be stupid!" _Nyx smiled and shrugged, "I love music."

"Still, don't you get tired, staying up all night writing songs and practicing?"

Nyx nodded, "Yeah. Speaking of writing, could you give me a hand with this one? This is supposed to be my last show ever, so I thought I'd go out with something special... but I can't think of anything else for this one..."

Zoe took the paper and started writing on it, "What if you changed this here and add this here?"

Nyx was flabbergasted by how incredible the song was after just that slight adjustment, "Whoa! You're right! Zoe, this is incredible!"

Zoe started writing more ideas down, "And what about...?"

Nyx stood up, "I'll grab some more paper to write this down on, you keep going!" Nyx rushed off (as fast as he could while limping), and returned with a stack of paper, "Zoe, I got... Zoe?"

Zoe had passed out on the couch, the paper she was writing on sticking out of her hand. Nyx looked at it, _"Wow... she really has a lot of talent."_ Being the soft-hearted boy he was, Nyx grabbed her a blanket and laid it over her as he began writing down music to match the amazing lyrics Zoe had come up with. As he continued to write the music down, he felt his eyelids getting heavier. It wasn't long before he passed out over the table full of papers.

Frida looked in through the window and pulled Manny over to look, "See?! I told you! He totally has a crush on Zoe!"

Manny's eyes went wide, "Whoa. I thought you were just messing with me. Why are you spying on Zoe again?"

"Doesn't matter! Do you know what this means?!"

"Um... that she won't try to flirt with me anymore?"

"No! It means that I can get her to stop being evil by helping Nyx! Love changes people, you know."

"So... we're going to try to help Nyx and Cuervo's relationship because then... you won't hate Zoe?"

"What? No! What kind of patsy do you think I am?! After Zoe falls in love with Nyx, she'll be vulnerable! Then I'll take my revenge!"

"That's pretty low..."

"Half a truck full of churros says you'll help."

"They will be a couple, THIS I SWEAR!"

* * *

><p>Frida looked at Manny, "Um... are you sure this is going to work?"<p>

Manny smiled evilly as he lit the match, "Trust me. This bomb is from Grandpapi's GOOD stash. If this doesn't do the trick, nothing will."

He threw the bomb and ran like the wind as the school was blown into a million pieces. Frida gave Manny a knuckle-touch, "Dude... we need to get more stuff from your Grandpapi's good stash more often."

Manny smiled, "So when are we getting that churro truck?"

"First, we must spy on them and make sure what we did doesn't completely backfire!"

"You might as well just assume it did..."


	4. Chapter 4

When Nyx finally was woken by the sun, he could see that Zoe was still asleep on the couch. He stood up and started looking over the lyrics and the music. After setting them down and putting them together, he sat down in front of the piano and started to play it. He noticed as Zoe sleepily rubbed her eyes, "Hey, you sleep well?"

Zoe saw the paper sitting on the piano, "You finished it?"

"Not all of it. You want to skip school and just work on our stuff for tonight?"

"I dunno... I'm a straight-A student and I usually don't miss school..."

"Neither do I."

Zoe sat down at the piano, "Okay."

Frida rubbed her hands together as she stared through, "Yes... excellent... phase one is complete... we've done good, Manny."

Manny raised his eyebrow, "Um... Frida... they were going to skip school anyway, so we really didn't do anything..."

* * *

><p>Carmelita came bursting through the door, "Zoe! Are you in here?!"<p>

Zoe looked up from the table full of pieces of paper,"Mama? What are you doing here?"

"I was worried that you were at the school when it was destroyed last night!" Carmelita hugged her child, "I'm so glad you're safe, mija!"

Nyx walked in holding a bowl of nachos, "Hey, Zoe I finished making the nachos-"

Carmelita started shouting while her hands were waving in the air, "YOU! What were you two doing here alone... unsupervised?"

Nyx smiled nervously, "We were just working on a song..."

Carmelita squinted at him, "I assume that you can prove it then?"

Never had Nyx been happier to hear his aunt Mira burst through the door, "I was watching them, Carmelita. Trust me, they behaved themselves."

Carmelita turned to look at Mira, "If you say so, I have no choice but to believe you. Zoe, I need to speak with you about something."

Mira looked at Nyx, "I need to speak with you about something, as well."

Zoe walked over to one corner with her mother, "What is it?"

Carmelita looked to make sure nobody else could hear her, "Zoe, you need to make sure you have your things ready for the heist tonight. You didn't forget that we're going to steal the gigantic phoenix ruby from the museum tonight, did you?"

Zoe rubbed her chin, "Why does that sound familiar...?"

Carmelita put her hands on Zoe's shoulder, "Zoe! Focus! The Riveras are going to try to stop us, but now that we know they're going to be waiting for us, we can prepare for them!"

Zoe bit her lip, for the first time in her life, she wasn't thinking about revenge. She was thinking about Nyx.

Nyx, in the opposite corner, was looking at Mira through squinted eyes, "If you think I'm going to skip this concert tonight-"

Mira held her hands up, "Shush, I know you love music and that you wouldn't skip your concert with Zoe for the world. That's not what I wanted to discuss with you."

"What did you want to talk about, then?"

"After the concert, there's going to be a robbery at nearby museum. Black Cuervo and her family will be trying to rob it. They have a plan to blow up the police's first response team. Unless you want those cops to die, I would suggest you blow those mines up prematurely the second the concert is over. Good luck and have a good day, Nyx." Mira walked out of the house with a wicked smile.

Carmelita patted Zoe's shoulder, "See you then, mija!" With that, Carmelita walked out.

Then all that was left was Zoe and Nyx, trying to convince themselves they could manage to do both the concert and the moonlit mission. By noon, neither had the nerve to tell the other as Zoe stood at the door to leave.

Zoe tried to make one last attempt, "Um, Nyx?"

Nyx looked at her with all the hope in the world in his eyes, "What's up?"

Zoe couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt horrible as she chickened out, "I'll... see you later."

Nyx smiled brightly, "I'll see you then, Zoe!"

As Zoe walked out the door, Nyx held his hand over his heart. It hurt like it had never before. Of course, with his armor having been broken several times in the previous night, he had expected a little more pain than usual. But not this much. The pain wasn't the only thing that was sending him a message. In his mind, the voice was crystal clear, _"Nyx, you know what this pain is. You've been deviating from your heart's desire. I understand that you care about others, Nyx, but if you continue to use my power without the entire force of your will behind it, you will not last very long. I have been with your family for a very long time. Your mother took good care of me up until those fools attempted to take her life in my name. Your father understood my pain. For these reasons, I have always trusted your judgement. Up until now, I've had only one chance to doubt you. Now I have more than reason to fear for your life. Nyx. Tell me why."_

Nyx looked out his window as he held his chest, "... Because I feel normal. Because I laugh and I don't worry I look dumb while I'm laughing. Because she smiles at me and the weight of the world is lifted from my shoulder. Because... even though I know I couldn't ever use your power while she's around... I still want to be around her. The same way that my dad stood in front of you with a will stronger than yours... I would stand like that. Only, I'd try to do it so that I could live longer... so I could smile with her again and joke about it afterward. Because... because... because for the first time since... since I took you in... I'm not worried about when I'll die... I just know that I want to live."

The voice in his mind sounded happy, _"Ah, Nyx. It makes me so happy to hear you say that! I have been waiting for a while for you to find that special someone and it's good to see I was right about her!"_

Nyx squinted, "Right about her? You haven't talked about anyone but Black Cuervo for the past couple days. Wait, are you saying-"

_"Oh... I forget that you identify people by their looks and not their souls. Sorry if I spoiled the surprise for you, but either someone with the EXACT same soul as Zoe Aves is Black Cuervo or-"_

Nyx covered his hand with his mouth, "Zoe is Black Cuervo!"

Right after Nyx had that revelation, Frida burst through the door, "Nyx! Where's the churro truck?!"

Nyx looked down at the ring on his finger, "I'd never go back on a promise to a friend, THAT is something I would never waver on. On my Iron will, THIS I SWEAR!"

* * *

><p>Manny, Frida, and Nyx were chomping down on churros in no time. Manny looked to see there wasn't a scratch on the truck, "How'd you steal it without breaking it?"<p>

Nyx shrugged, "Had a little help."

Frida looked at Manny, "It wasn't you... so who helped you, Nyx?"

Nyx looked at his ring, then swallowed a mouthful of churros, "Oh, nobody that you would want to meet. So... what now? What do you guys do for fun here in Miracle City?"

Manny put his fist in the air, "Arcade!"

Frida frowned, "We blew our money on the arcade two days ago."

"Oh yeah... we could go fight the undead! That's usually fun!"

Nyx frowned and held his chest, "Um... I don't think I'm up for that today, Manny. Is there something else we could do instead?"

Like a bolt from the blue, Puma Loco shot down from the sky in his mech suit, "Manny! I need ju to help me out with something! Now that El Endraigo knows that he can't mess with the Riveras, it's the perfect time to go out and commit the big heist I've been planning for months! Ah... de little do-gooder has decided to join ju. Ju going to try to call the policia, do-gooder?"

Nyx pulled out his golden coin, "Mr. Rivera, I'm sad you think I'm such a goodie-two-shoes. Who do you think stole the truck?"

"Obviously Manny did. Dat boy is a nefarious scoundrel if I ever saw one."

Nyx flipped the coins between his fingers, "What were you planning to steal again? Don't worry about the police. Even if I did call them, I'm sure you could handle them."

Puma crossed his arm, "Please, ju couldn't steal candy from a baby!"

Nyx raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? How about the goggles off Frida's head?"

As he held them up, all three of his onlookers were stunned. Puma scratched his chin, "I take back what I said. Ju not bad, kid. But ju still not a master."

Nyx looked around, "What could I steal...?" He saw smoke in the sky and his eyes lit up, "Meet me back here in two hours. You won't believe your eyes."

Puma scoffed, "Psht, I doubt dat."

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Puma was gazing over the city as skeletons ran amok, stealing everything in sight and causing as much mayhem as possible. Puma wiped a tear from his eye, "It's so beautiful... Manny... dis boy, ju are his friend, jes?"<p>

Manny nodded, "Uh... yeah..."

"Good, good. Dis boy can teach you much."

Nyx, dressed in armor made from bones, patted Puma's back, "That's just the distraction."

Puma raised his eyebrow, "What?!"

Nyx pointed at the sky, "Notice anything different?"

"Hm... no... is just a clear-WAIT! WHERE IS DE SMOKE FROM THE VOLCANO?!"

Nyx shrugged, "Volcano? What volcano?"

Frida pulled the sheet off of the gigantic volcano with a 'Miracle City' sign, "WHOA!"

Nyx smiled widely, "Oh... THAT volcano."

Puma looked to see all the skeletons all fall to pieces, "Dat's genius! A crime spree as a distraction?! Dis boy is half as crafty as I was in my youth! Manny, I think that ju and him got dis covered. I'm going to take the day off and watch some T.V. Have fun being villainous menaces to society!" Puma Loco flew off.

Manny turned to Nyx, "Dude, how did you steal the volcano?! Nyx...?"

Nyx was on the ground, grasping his chest in pain, "I'm okay... summoning zombies is hard work... especially when you have to summon enough to carry a volcano..."

Frida helped him up, "Dude... you look paler than the zombies. Are you sure you're okay?"

Nyx propped himself up against a wall, "I'm fine... just need to rest... for a bit..."

"Nyx, did you steal the Miracle City volcano?" Mira raised her eyebrow, as if she even could have suspected anyone else.

Nyx nodded, "Yeah..."

Mira hugged him, "Ah, Nyx! One of these days, you and me will have to go on a crime spree together! But seriously, I'll put the volcano back while you kids go eat some lunch."

Manny pointed at Mira, "You're the woman who stole my pants!"

Mira shrugged, "Guilty as charged. I can't help it. Being 'Candy-Finger Chimera' comes with responsibility of robbing the slightly slower of their valuables.. and dignity. But I returned the things I stole, so you kids run along, now. I'll make sure the volcano is returned... for a price."

Manny pointed at his lower body, "I was talking about right now... please give me my pants back."

Frida snickered, "Nice ZebraDonkey tighty-whities."

* * *

><p>Manny looked at Nyx, who was barely able to finish his food, "If you knew you'd get so tired stealing the volcano, why'd you do it?"<p>

Nyx shrugged, "I normally don't steal for fun, but I had to prove that I could do it. The Blanco family is full of master thieves and super heroes, I couldn't let it be said that I'm a disgrace to the family name. Especially when I KNOW I can do it. I'm proud of my family and I do my best to make sure they're proud of me."

"I can understand that. Being a Rivera isn't easy, either."

"I can only imagine... uh!" Nyx grabbed his chest.

Frida pointed, "I told you not to eat that hot sauce!"

Manny looked at Frida, "You said he was a wimp if he didn't..."

Nyx took a deep breath, "I'm okay... but I need to go..."

Nyx stood up to leave when he found a laser pointed at his face. The smell of strawberry filled his nose as Black Cuervo prepared to fire, "You there! I need a hostage! Come quietly and I won't blast you!"

Manny prepared to spin his belt buckle, "Not on my watch-"

Nyx put his hand on Manny's, stopping him from becoming El Tigre, "No... it's okay, I'll go with her."

Manny raised his eyebrow, "You sure, dude, I could-"

Nyx knew that if he put the stress of worrying about Zoe on his heart now, he would pass out, "I'm sure. I surrender, Cuervo. I'm your hostage."

Cuervo grabbed him by the collar and flew off with him.

Manny looked at Frida, "Um... shouldn't we do something?"

Manny spun his belt buckle, "El Tigre! Of course we're going to do something! Let's go get em'!"

* * *

><p>Nyx looked at the police squad as he held his hands up, "Really? She just wants one ruby... can't you just give it to her?"<p>

Cuervo groaned, "JUST GIVE ME THE RUBY PHOENIX OR I SWEAR I WILL BLOW THIS BOY'S HEAD OFF!"

The policeman put the megaphone to his mouth, "Um... we don't have the ruby phoenix. What about-"

"NO! JUST GIVE ME THE PHOENIX!"

Nyx was impressed by unwavering and commanding willpower. In her blind rage, Nyx was pretty sure that she didn't even know it was him she grabbed. Who in their right mind would steal someone right in front of El Tigre? They wouldn't, therefor, Cuervo must be in a desperation-driven rage. Even though he thought it was sweet, the pain in his chest forced him to his knees, "Please..."

Cuervo picked him up, "STAND UP!"

Nyx's vision became blurry, "I... can't..."

Cuervo shook him, "YES, YOU CAN AND YOU WILL!"

The dragon spoke to Nyx as he fell to the ground, _"Nyx! Get up, Nyx! You need to stand and protect yourself!" _

Nyx pushed himself to his knees, "The police... can't hold out... much longer..."

Nyx heard his uncle's voice boom through the air, "Surrender, Black Cuervo!"

Knowing that Griff was with the police, Nyx knew his efforts were futile. Then a thought creeped into his mind. Cuervo. Not even El Endraigo Negro would stand a chance against Griff if Griff wasn't holding back. And with Nyx as a hostage, Griff would NOT hold back. As panic began to settle in, Nyx pulled his golden coin from his pocket and held it out to Cuervo, "Cuervo... this coin... get it to Zoe Aves... my life... depends... on it..."

He felt her fingers curl around it as his heart stopped.

Cuervo realized who he was as he looked into her eyes, "Nyx...? Nyx?!" She felt his neck, "DOCTOR!"

Griff leaped over the barrier and put his fingers against Nyx's neck, "Oh, no! The crystal... his heart's taken too much strain and can't push against the crystals anymore!" Griff's hands lit up with holy light, "I'll try to revive him using healing magic! If only I had a necromancer to stave off death...!"

No matter how hard he made his hands glow, Nyx just kept getting weaker and weaker. Cuervo flew as fast as she could to the nearest bathroom and came running back just as quickly as Zoe, while wearing the bony body armor, "What can I do to help?!"

Griff was too worried to wonder where the help was coming from, "Stand over him and hold your arms out! Death will be drawn to you naturally and give me some time to save him!"

In the moments that Zoe drew in the dark aura, it was almost impossible to see her clearly. It was like her body had become a silhouette. El Tigre flew into the picture with no way of knowing that it was Zoe trying to save Nyx's life. Instead, he was nearly certain Black Cuervo was going to kill both Nyx and Griff. He tackled Zoe into the air and over Nyx's head.

Nyx caught a glimpse of her mid-flight, _" Oh no... the mines!"_

It all happened within the blink of an eye.

The armor coated Nyx for a fraction of a second.

The explosion covered him in smoke as he wrapped himself around Zoe.

As the smoke cleared, the sunlight turned the armor to glass, which shattered on one side. Zoe held her hands over her mouth as tears streamed down her face, "Nyx...!"

Nyx wiped a single tear from her eye, it was all his body could muster. He smiled at her through the broken glass, "A little black bird... told me you'd be here... Zoe..."

Zoe shook her head, "No... no you stay with me! YOU HEAR ME NYX?!"

Nyx looked at the ring on his finger, "It isn't over yet... I swear... I'll come back for you... take the ring... from my finger..."

Zoe looked at the ring, "What, why?"

Nyx smiled, "It releases whatever's in your heart if you think about it hard enough... so you think of me... and I'll always be there for you..."

Zoe wasn't sure what to do when his eyes closed. She was certain her heart had stopped beating. A second after that, Griff came with a couple paramedics who loaded him into an ambulance. Griff patted Zoe's shoulder, "Young lady, I want to thank you for helping me save Nyx."

Zoe was filled with hope, "He'll be okay?!"

"Yes, but for a little while, he'll need to return to North City. The hospital there has very special equipment designed to help Nyx get back on his feet. Don't worry, he'll be back in no time. In the meantime, he had this in his pocket. I have feeling... it's for you."

Zoe looked at the paper as guilt filled her chest, _"Zoe, I'd like to dedicate this song to you. I never would have done it without you. Hopefully, by the time I hand you this paper, I'll have shown you what I really am. If not, I'll leave the truth to you here. I knew about the bank robbery tonight. I knew that your mom and grandma set those mines to take out the police officers who would try to catch them. Forgive me if my armor fails me and I don't make it. Always remember that this is our song, started by the dragon, and finished by the girl who stole the dragon's heart._

_"The sun is gone, but there is light,_

_"under the cloudy, moonless night._

_"The stars won't shine, but I can see,_

_"the one who stands right there by me._

_..._

_"I'll fight as long as you'll be my light._

_..._

_"This mask I wear to keep away pain,_

_"you through it once again._

_"So here stand, I watch you fly,_

_"your beauty and grace painting the sky._

_"I stand in awe, devoid of fear,_

_"the world collapses, but I'm still here._

_..._

_"I'll fight as long as you'll be my light._

_..._

_"The night is long,_

_"the pain feels wrong,_

_"but still I loved you all along._

_"The claw are sharp,_

_"the cuts are deep,_

_"still I can feel a stone heart beat._

_"Your eyes, they feed my soul,_

_"set blaze to this heart of coal._

_"You turn the beast that I fear inside,_

_"into the heaven's sacred pride._

_..._

_"I'll fight as long as you'll be my light._

_..._

_"To save or hurt, lost in between,_

_"to my last breath I will cling,_

_"the flash that sets my mind free,_

_"is always your memory._

_"If tonight is all I get,_

_"my will stop without regret._

_"Save for the wish I've hard-thought through,_

_"... I wanted to live for you."_

Zoe couldn't think. It was too much for her to take in. She pushed past Griff and ran as hard as she could towards the hospital. For the first time ever, she was happy to see Frida Suarez and a stolen churro truck in the middle of the street. Frida threw the door open, "C'mon!"

* * *

><p>When Nyx opened his eyes, he saw flashing lights and heard people talking over him. He knew at once that he was in the emergency room because he was moving at a fast pace while lying down. He blinked and the world around him changed. Now he was standing on a plateau of dark rocks and staring out into an endless array of black clouds that reigned green fire. He turned to see a man in a black cloak with a scythe of pure ivory and stainless steel, "Nyx Blanco... it's been a long time coming."<p>

Nyx gritted his teeth, "Sorry... but you'll have to wait a little longer. I'm not going down without a fight."

"Oh? Is that so? I can remember days when you begged me to take you. When that perfect memory of yours haunted you with the death of your parents. Days when the nightmares weren't just when you slept. Days when the pain was as unbearable as it was unimaginable. Are you certain you want to return to those?"

Nyx nodded without a second thought, "Gladly."

"I see. Found a reason to live, have you? Took you long enough... to be a day late and a dollar short."

Nyx's hands were set ablaze with black flames as he allowed his energy to flow through his blood, "The heart of the dragon burns with a flame that won't be extinguished until it's burned its full course. I know you can't just let me go, because that's your job, but don't expect me to hold back, either."

"This won't take long. Hope you've said your last goodbyes."

The black flames covered his body as Nyx's mind focused on nothing other than his target, "I won't lose to you... not today, Death."


End file.
